Holy
by Kella Toh
Summary: He seemed to be the last person on Earth deserving of those words. Chouji contemplates the nature of Sasuke and his famed technique. NO YAOI.


**A/N: Chouji is, in my opinion, one of the most neglected characters in all of the Naru-verse. He gets decent screentime, although his following is very small. My notebook is full of Akimichi doodles. (3) He's occurred to me as a very kind character, the kind to contemplate the larger curiosities in life. So this is him, thinking about why the Uchiha are blessed with such gifts. Footnotes are on the bottom.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Or, anything, really.**

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><p><strong><em>Holy<em>**

_He seemed to be the last person on Earth deserving of those words._

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><p>.<p>

Chouji was not a religious person.

He went to the shrines on holidays like everyone else, ever since he was little. The air would seep through the bottoms of his kimono, giving him chills. He would pray, give his offering with his family, and admire the kadomatsu (1) and the decorations for all the gods and Buddha. Then he'd politely leave, and hurry home with the rest of his clan to a delicious Osechi (2) and later a nice pochibukuro (3).

He didn't have much time to _be _religious. It really was hard to contemplate the nature of life at large when you're slicing the neck of another human being, or constantly training to do so. He'd wonder about it abstractly when he was eating alone sometimes, but even then it didn't go much farther than how the gods could manage such a perfect crunchy chip.

Times really hadn't changed, as sad as it would appear. He prayed at his clan's shrine for his team's health and happiness, but that was largely typical for boys his age. He was dragged along for Ino's hatsu-uri (4) tradition bit at New Year's, but so was Shikamaru.

In the sense of religion, he was essentially a puppy. Happy to please and follow everyone else, but not very much knowing what in the hell it was all about. More or less staying along with it for the sake of the clan, and the food at the parties and celebrations he had little idea were about.

For the life of him, though, he could not figure out why the Uchiha had a damned _technique _named after the sun goddess. Appearing briefly on a worksheet in the Academy, he was curious about its name.

_Amaterasu_

At age seven, he remembered it to be the sun goddess. She had tucked herself away in a cave during the Ice Age or something, and came out when another goddess did a bellydance which made her come out finally. This made it all light again and whatever, and that's when all the people thrived.

However, according to the paper, _Amaterasu _was an Uchiha jutsu that was one of the most powerful ones in existence. It allowed the user to ignite the black flames of hell with a simple glance, and burn down anything in its path. It had nearly killed the Fourth Raikage (which was no easy task). It smothers all other fire techniques, and will not be put out with any water.

It perplexed him.

Why should something that kills be named after something that gives life?

As he slams a fist into his zombified sensei's face, he thinks of it more. Why should an Uchiha be granted such a holy name? To have the skill, the power, the money, and the women that they did would make him and any other man the happiest in the world. Yet the damned _Uchiha _sit on their throne in some high, aloof place and look down at the rest of the population in disgust because they are _unworthy _of their attention and time.

Then, after he recovers from his chakra high, he sighs and corrects himself that that's just Sasuke.

He is told they once were a great breed of people. They donned the most cutting red eyes, and held a perfect balance on and off the field. They were merciless warriors, choosing to kill prisoners rather than take them. They were a close-knit family, nursing the newborn children to strong adults. They were loyal, rivaling even the Inuzuka in their fierce closeness to their village.

Most of all, they were deserving.

They deserved the skill, the power, the money, and the women that made them the happiest men on the planet. They deserved the ability to crush entire kingdoms with their small toe. Deserving of the authority that made them the most respected and fear clan of the Land of Fire. Anything they wished would be done, they were the kings of shinobi.

Then, slow as a dying bird, the perfect Uchiha world crumbled. And all that was left was a dark, brooding boy that would never become a man. Who would start wars with the flick of his wrist and destroy villages with a glance. Break hearts with an uncaring mutter of words, and kill relationships and leave them out like fresh game. A horridly undeserving boy.

So, when Chouji listens to stories of the Kage Summit and of the Raikage and Sasuke's struggles, he suppresses a rage-filled scream. _This _is the last, pitiful, drop of the giant ocean that used to be the Uchiha. And it may end up destroying the world. An Uchiha, destroying all the world in which his ancestors built with his very holy eyes.

He, as far as Chouji could tell, was last person on Earth deserving of that word.

.

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><p><strong>Footnotes:<strong>

**1) A type of Japanese New Year's decoration. Festival bamboo, wooden, or plum branch decoration placed at the entrances to places for spirits to live.**

**2) A traditional Japanese New Year's feast. Lots of food, great for family.**

**3) The money a child on New Year's would receive from family members in Japan.**

**4) First sale of the New Year. Poor Shika and Cho.**


End file.
